A simple retweet bot with Yahoo Pipes and Tweethopper

This is not an invasive bot, but a little “pipe” bot. And you don’t have to be able to program, just be able to think logically (somewhat). I am making this one for OpPinkPower. She wants to make sure she doesn’t miss #OpIon and #ENOUGH tweets while sitting confused in an obscene amount of information.

Accounts needed

Sign up and in to Bit.ly. In Account Settings you can find your bit.ly API key. You might as well authorise bit.ly for your twitter account.

Tweethoppers free plan allows for only one job, so we better make that a job worthwhile.

Create Twitter Search Feeds

Don’t make more than three Twitter search feeds that are not too wide, or else you will be drawing too much data too often from Twitter and your account may get suspended, even when you are not doing it to get more followers (Twitter Rules)

In item.titlereplace2011 with a space. Not a dash, or \s, 040, or whatever code indicating a space, but a space. Just a space.

Now connect the RegEx to the Pipe Output. That’s it for the Yahoo Pipe Building. Click “save” (up top right) and enter a name for your pipe. Somewhat to the left is a “Back to My Pipes” link, open it in a new tab, click your pipe, and copy the link of the RSS Feed:

Add to Tweet Hopper isn’t working yet

Open up the Twitter account you added to Tweethopper and select Add Feed Tweet Job

A little blue link “Add Feed Url” appears on the same page just below the three options. Click it, enter the Yahoo Pipe RSS Feed you have just made, and your bit.ly username and API key, and “Update This Account” at the bottom. You’re done. The Feed-Tweet job runs every 10 mintues. I hope we soon get to have a feature where we can set this (with a minimum time of course).

Existing Pipes are share-able and copy-able, and you can also ask me to make a new pipe for you. I may have time, I may not have time for that. :) And post questions and problems below. I’ll respond. Suggestions for improvement of above guide and pipe is also very welcome. In fact, anything you say and write below will be used for that.